Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

The blue light of the mana circuit reflected off pale faces.

I stood motionless, staring at the coffins containing the sea people. Seeing people stacked like cargo in such a confined space was utterly devastating.

Though I couldn’t decipher everything, I could tell that sleep and freezing circuits dominated. Unlike the crude formula at the entrance, this was different.

This item was crafted by someone who thoroughly understood the compatibility between various formulas.

“Just under thirty, I’d say.”

According to Astrona, about fifty children were kidnapped from Badadkkot at the time. Analysis of the ledger showed that roughly fourteen young sea people had been sold off since then.

“It’s a bit short, but it roughly adds up.”

I slowly approached the shelves and opened the nearest coffin. A transparent liquid sloshed inside. Beneath it, a boy who still hadn’t lost his youthful appearance lay with eyes closed.

The boy, kidnapped decades ago, hadn’t grown beyond his appearance at that time.

“It’s impressive he could respond to Atera’s telepathy.”

Cha Taeyang approached with a deliberately composed expression, dipped her finger into the coffin, and promptly put the transparent liquid in her mouth.

“Hunter Cha Taeyang! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Ugh, nasty taste! Don’t worry, I have a detoxification skill. I thought it might be seawater, so I tasted it.”

Well, that’s a relief. I thought my heart would stop. The viscous liquid dripped from Cha Taeyang’s hand. Even when she summoned fire to her hand, the sticky liquid didn’t dry.

I took out a water bottle from my inventory and handed it to her. When she poured water over her hand, the liquid disappeared instantly.

“It seems to be a liquid made of special components.”

“Could it be some kind of potion?”

“I think it might be similar to a debuff potion… but I can’t read the item information.”

“They’re not really dead, are they?”

I shook my head at Cha Taeyang’s question.

Sea people were traded at enormous prices. There’s no way they would carelessly damage such valuable merchandise. With formula-enchanted coffins and this liquid, it’s unlikely they’d go to such lengths to preserve corpses.

“I’ll start by tampering with the circuit on the coffin.”

Moving all these coffins without being detected is an impossible task for A-rank Cha Taeyang, or anyone else we could bring, for that matter.

We need to wake the children.

I put on the monocle, “For the Fourteenth Night.” Unlike usual, a cold voice pierced my mind.

[Gaho.]

“Yes, Kalia.”

[Go on, say you need my wisdom. So I can help you.]

“Kalia, I need your help. Please assist us.”

[I’ve received your request. I’ll help you as is my duty. You’ll be my hands, moving as I direct.]

The center of the circuit lit up, as if indicating where to start.

A blue-purple light traced the path forward above the seemingly dead child. I unhesitatingly reached for where Kalia pointed.

Following Kalia’s instructions, I cut and twisted the circuit. As if by magic, the freezing formula beneath my hand melted away, and the illusion formula dispersed.

Everything was going smoothly.

Though it was a fairly well-crafted formula, it was useless before Kalia, one of the world’s top craftsmen. After fixing the circuit, I double-checked to be sure.

“But why, why aren’t they waking up?”

Everything had gone smoothly, yet the boy in the coffin remained motionless, exactly as before.

I had perfectly blocked all formulas—sleep, freezing, and even the obedience formula commanding immobility. Yet I couldn’t wake the boy.

‘Could my lack of dexterity be causing problems even here?’

Cha Taeyang gently patted my shoulder.

“Unni, let’s try again.”

“Kalia, I’d like to ask for your help once more.”

[Wait.]

As I was about to touch the circuit again, Kalia stopped me.

[Hey, didn’t you say your Magitech was A-rank?]

“Yes, that’s right.”

[I’m seeing through your eyes. That’s why I didn’t notice right away. I guess I’m getting old too.]

“What do you mean?”

[This is giving me a headache. Tampering with the mana circuit on the coffin alone might not be enough to solve this.]

“Pardon?”

Kalia explained with a sigh in her voice.

According to her analysis, the sleeping sea people were under a double-layered formula. The circuit engraved on the coffin was merely auxiliary; the main component was the liquid inside the coffin.

Even if we deactivate the formula on the coffin, the sea people won’t wake up unless we do something about that liquid.

[If we really try, it might be possible, but it would take about two hours.]

“We don’t have that much time!”

[You there.]

Kalia’s voice seemed to grow a bit louder, and Cha Taeyang reacted to her call. It seemed the voice that had only been audible to me until now could be heard by Cha Taeyang as well.

“Oh, who are you?”

[That’s not important right now. Your name is Cha Taeyang, right?]

“Yes, but why?”

[Do you happen to have any alchemy-related skills? Something like Pharmaceutical skill, Researcher’s Attitude, Mix and Boil, Inverted Truth. Anything like that, even if it’s low-ranked.]

Cha Taeyang shook her head with a glum expression.

“I do have a Detoxification skill!”

She added, but Kalia cut her off, saying that wouldn’t be enough.

[Ugh, if only you were an alchemist, Gaho.]

“I agree.”

Ding- A message from Yun Su-ho arrived, saying the auction was about to begin. That meant people from the organizers would be coming here soon. We were running out of time.

Time was tight, and we lacked the appropriate skills. Even Kalia, our ray of hope, said it was impossible. After coming this far, are we going to turn back empty-handed? We couldn’t.

“Please, please. Isn’t there any way?”

A transparent liquid that doesn’t burn in purifying flames but dissolves in water.

I racked my brain frantically. If only I had paid more attention to items usually… Then again, I’d thrown everything I had at the Kraken.

‘Kraken?’

The item I had sprinkled on the Kraken when it was knocked out after being beaten by Yun Su-ho. Why didn’t I think of that earlier?

“Kalia, please check this!”

I took a potion out of my inventory and placed it on the floor. A deep golden liquid sloshed inside the glass bottle.

[Gaho? What’s that?]

“It’s an Awakening Potion.”

[Hmm, I’ve never seen such a thing. You’re planning to wake the children with that?]

“Yes. Though this alone won’t be enough.”

The Awakening Potion is effective on people in an unconscious state. And there’s another effect…

“Kalia, have you ever heard of Snow Fairies?”

[Snow Fairies? That’s a name I’ve never heard before.]

“Mr. Kim, what nonsense are you suddenly spouting?”

As expected. Snow Fairies are magical beasts that only appear in extremely cold regions. And there are no areas on this continent with temperatures low enough for Snow Fairies to appear.

Kalia, with her much broader knowledge, can’t know about something that doesn’t exist here. This liquid was probably brought from a region that began trading after her time.

“In our world, we create magical tools by processing liquid extracted from springs where Snow Fairies bathe. The spring water itself isn’t an item, but with a bit of processing, it can be used in various useful ways, so it’s in high demand.”

[And its effects?]

Kalia asked in a low voice, as if she had guessed something.

“Freezing. It’s mainly used as a core in magical tools for making preserves or storing items.”

A transparent, viscous liquid that washes away with water. There’s no doubt. It’s Snow Fairy spring water.

“This liquid didn’t dry even under flame. Of course! It’s made from fairy spring water!”

“What does that have to do with the Awakening Potion?”

“This Awakening Potion is an essential item on the 59th floor, where Snow Fairies commonly appear.”

I’ve only heard about this, never experienced it firsthand.

But we have Towers.com, an ocean of indirect experiences. Who knew that all the information I’d scraped from continuously searching Towers would come in handy here?

According to hunter community testimonies, while Snow Fairies are weak in their true form, the powder that falls from their bodies makes them a creature of concern among hunters.

“That powder has two effects. One is the freezing I just mentioned, and the other is illusion. If you encounter a Snow Fairy in a water-attribute field…”

“You’d be perfectly set up to freeze to death!”

[Freezing and illusion. Those work well together.]

“That’s why this potion, made from processing an item called ‘Small Breath of Fire’, is necessary.”

A potion made from the Small Breath of Fire collected from the Phoenix, natural enemy of Snow Fairies. Moreover, it has the effect of awakening the mind.

“Couldn’t we use this to nullify the formula on the coffins?”

[How many of these potions do you have right now?]

Kalia asked in a much softer voice, as if convinced.

“Um, including this one, two bottles.”

Kalia couldn’t hide her sigh at my answer. Even I thought it was too small an amount. With so many sea people here, only two bottles?

[We’ll need to make some adjustments.]

“Is there a way?”

[Of course! Who do you think I am?]

They say there’s always a way out, even if the sky falls. I breathed a sigh of relief at Kalia’s confident voice. I’m glad I thought of the Kraken. I sent a mental thank you to the Kraken.

[You there, you said you have a Detoxification skill, right? What rank?]

“A-rank.”

[Good. Bring an empty bottle and draw some blood.]

“Who are you to tell Taeyang to draw blood!”

The goblin, unaware of Kalia’s identity, jumped up and down. Come to think of it, I didn’t introduce her. On the other hand, Cha Taeyang remained calm.

“Sori, now’s not the time for this.”

“But Taeyang!”

“Unni, do you have something like a dagger?”

I handed Cha Taeyang the dagger I carried as a backup. The goblin rolled over to me, whining. Cha Taeyang restrained the goblin and cut her palm to draw blood.

[You need to fill it completely.]

“Ugh, understood.”

“I’ll explain who this is later.”

The small bottle filled with blood. Cha Taeyang, frowning from the pain, sprinkled the potion on her blood-covered palm. Only after seeing the wound slowly heal did the goblin quiet down.

[The blood of someone with a Detoxification skill contains a small amount of detoxifying components.]

“Are you planning to use that?”

[Yes. We’ll use this child’s blood to amplify the components of this potion.]

Following the subsequent instructions, I drew a circuit on the floor to extract the detoxifying components from Cha Taeyang’s blood. The blood in the bottle turned into a pale green liquid.

[Now mix the potion with that liquid.]

“Kalia, even if we combine these, won’t the amount still be insufficient?”

[Oh my, you don’t think that’s the end of it, do you?]

“Then…”

My shoulders suddenly felt heavy at Kalia’s next words.

[Now it’s your turn, Gaho. Use that liquid as a medium and perform an enchantment. We’re going to draw out a special effect. You can do it, right?]